5 Biblical Reasons Why God Might Send His Angels

The word angel means “messenger” or “agent”. Scripture tells us that angels are witnesses to the creation of the world, which indicates they were with God long before the great event. Angels were created by God for a very divine purpose. They are here for one reason: to do God’s will.

In short, they were created to be instruments or agents to carry out His work. The Bible says, “Praise the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His bidding, who obey His Word” (Psalm 103:20). Just as angels are largely unseen by us, so also is their work. If we knew all the times angels were at work and the things they were doing right before us, we would be amazed. God does many things through His angels including giving us protection in times of danger, and not just physical danger, but also moral and spiritual danger as well.

Want to know other ways angels are at work around us? Here are five biblical reasons why God might send His angels.

To Give Praise and Worship to God

In the Bible, perhaps the biggest and most important role of angels is praising and glorifying God. Revelation 5:11-12 gives a description of over 100 million angels praising God in heaven. Revelation 4: references angels who day and night never stopped saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was and who is to come.” Angels were also there to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

We don’t know how many there were that day, but we do know that it was a great company of heavenly host. For angels, praising God is very important. In the Psalms, we are told that not only angels, but all of creation is to praise and worship God.

To Deliver a Message from God

There are countless examples in Scripture when God sends His angels to give specific message to an individual and people. One example of this can be found in Genesis 18 where we read about God sending three men, messengers to Abraham and Sarah to tell them she would bear a son.

He sent an angel to Sarah’s servant Hagar in the desert as she fled in Genesis 16 to give hope that she was not forgotten. Another great example of this is when the angel Gabriel was sent to Mary referenced in Luke 1 to tell her that she would give birth to the Son of God. When they are sent down by God, their message is important.

To Protect Us

Another biblical reason why God sends His angels is to protect, guard and fight for us. Psalm 91 reminds us that God would give charge concerning us and guard us in all our ways. God sent an angel to Daniel in the lion’s den. Daniel 6:22 tells us that he shut the mouth of the lions so that no harm came to him. Another example of God sending angels for protection in Scripture is when He reminded the Israelites of His presence with them. The Bible tells us in Exodus 23:20 that the Lord said, “I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to a place I have prepared for you.”

To Serve Believers

God sends angels to serve believers, particularly to minister to those who hurt and need strength. An angel appeared to Elijah when he was afraid and running for his life referenced in 1 Kings 19. The angel came before Elijah to provide him with food and water for his journey. Another example of angels serving was in the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus prayed and struggled with what was to come. We know from Luke 22:43 to tell us that an angel appeared from heaven, strengthening Him. When Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days, He stood strong against the devil’s temptation. The devil left Him and angels and were ministering to Him (Matthew 4:11).

To Execute God’s Judgment

Angels are also used by God to punish sin and bring His judgment. God has always existed as a judge over His creation. The judgment of God is described in the Bible as a process, not strictly rendering of verdict or passing of a sentence. In fact, some of Jesus’ parables illustrate that judgment is a process that eventually leads to a decision or a reward, or lack thereof. Throughout the Book of Revelation, we see detailed accounts of God giving angels the charge to execute His judgment.

One example is in Revelation 12:7-9 which says, “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world – he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” This is a powerful image of what angels executing God’s judgment looks like.

Angels continue to be one of the most mysterious and marveled beings mentioned in the Bible and for good reason. While the church has few official teachings on angels, these five points from Scripture give us a clearer understanding of how angels are at work in our lives and remind us how great and powerful God is. What we do know about them from the Bible is amazing.